Micrometer adjustment for coating machine rollers and the like



A. HORMEL Filed May 23, 1933 MICROMETER ADJUSTMENT FOR COATING MACHINEROLLERS AND THE LIKE Sept. 11

Patented Sept. 11, 1934 MICROMETER ADJUSTMENT 'FOR COATING MACHINEROLLERS AND THE LIKE August Hormel, Hoboken, N. J.

Application May 23, 1933, Serial No. 672,408

Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in a means for accuratelyadjusting the relative positions of the rollers used in coating machinesand the like.

As is well known in, this art, several rollers are employed in thesemachines, by which a film of the coating material is transferred to thecomposition roller. Since the thickness of the film or coating appliedto the composition roller is of importance and is gauged by the relativepositions of the several rollers to one another and to the compositionroller, accuracy inv the spacing of these rollers is highly desirable.

Accordingly. the object of this invention is to ll provide a micrometersetting by which the several rollers may be accurately set with respectto one another and with respect to the transfer roller,

the setting thereof when once secured being main tained. In theaccompanying drawing, wherein the preferred embodiment of the inventionis shown, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a coating machine,showing the improved micrometer adjustment for the several rollers; Fig.2 is a similar view of the micrometer adjustment, showing the parts intheir respective positions of adjustment; Fig. 3 is a sectional view onthe line 3--3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, looking so in thedirection of the arrows; and Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 55of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the drawing 6 indicates one of the frame members of the coatingmachine, two of these 5 members being employed and connected together inany suitable way as is conventional in machines of this character.Rotatably mounted in the supporting frame members 6 by means of the iusual pairs of sliding bearing blocks 7 and 8 are the' compositionroller 9 and the supporting roller 10, the sheets to be coated being fedbetween the two rollers 9 and 10 as is well understood in this art. At11 is shown the fountain roller which mounted on the shaft 12 isrotatably supported in blocks 13 at the opposite sides of the machine.Each of the blocks 13 is guided between the frame members 14 and 15 anda spring. 16 tends to urge the blocks to the right in Fig. 1. The blocks13, and the roller 11 supported thereby, are adjusted toward thecomposition roller 9 and against the pressure of the spring 16 by meansof a threaded shaft 1'! which is threaded through an internally andexternally threaded sleeve 18 that is threaded within the vertical framemember 19. The exbe had.

.a fountain roller 11. Said transfer roller applies.

PATENT OFFICE.

ternal threads on the sleeve 18 are of finer pitch than the threads onthe shaft 17 so that by adjustment of the sleeve 18 a micrometer settingof the roller 11'is had. A hand-wheel 20 is provided on the end of theshaft 17 and a locking member or (I nut 21 is threaded on said shaft fora purpose to be hereafter set forth.

The sleeve l8carries a calibrated drum 22 and a fixed indicator 23 isprovided on the frame member 19-which co-operates with the calibrated odrum to enable a precise setting of the roller 11 to The roller 25receives coating material from a coating of the material to the surfaceof the composition roller 9. The transfer roller 25 is. mounted on'ashaft 26 rotatably held in bearing blocks 27 one of which is located ateach side of the machine. Each of these bearing blocks 27 is springpressed to the right of Fig. 1 by the spring 28. The blocks 27 areguided between frame members 14 and 29, a set screw 30 extending throughthe block and bearing against the side of the frame member 29, isadjusted when the spacing of therollers is set to prevent any possiblevibratory movement of the block in the guides.

At 31 is indicated a shaft for adjusting the position of the transferroller relative to the fountain roller 11. This shaft 31 is providedwith a hand-wheel 32 and a threaded portion 33 which threads through aguide34 secured to the top of the bearing block 13 in which the shaft 12of the fountain roller 11 is mounted. The shaft 31 carries a calibrateddrum 36 which co-operates with an indicator or pointer 37 secured on theframe member 19 to indicate the setting of the roller 25. c

To set the positions of the several rollers, the first step is toposition the two rollers 11 and 25 relative to one another. This is doneby shifting the roller by turning the hand-wheel 32 until the peripheryof the roller 25 is brought into contact with the periphery of theroller 11. The drum 36 is then loosened on the shaft 31 by loosening theset-screw 50, and the drum is turned freely on the shaft 31 until a zeroreading in alignment with the pointer 37 is had. The set screw 50 isthen tightened, and as the calibrations on the drum 36 are inthousandths, the hand-- wheel 32 may be turned to space the drum 25 therequired separation from the drum 11 in thousandths, as indicated by thecalibrations on the drum 36. When the position of the two rollers 11 and25 with respect to one another has been obtained, they are lockedin-this position by a set-screw 40 which extends through the 'guide 34and impinges against the threaded portion 33 of the shaft 31. Thisset-screw maintains the position of the block 13 relative to the block27 and thus maintains the two rollers 11 and together as a unit in theirposition of adjustment with respect to one another. The two rollers 11and 25 are then moved as a unit toward the composition roller 9 toadjust the space between, the transfer roller 25 and the compositionroller. This is done by turning the hand-wheel 20 which rotates theshaft 17 within the sleeve 18 and forces the block 13 to the left ofFig. 1. As the block 13 is connected by the set screw to shaft 31 whichoperates against the block 27, said block 2'7 and transfer roller 25carried by it are moved toward the composition roller 9. If asatisfactory adjustment of the spacing between the transfer roller 25and the composition roller 9 is had by rotation of the shaft 17, suchposition of adjustment is then set by moving the locking nut 21 to theleft of Fig. 1 to bring it into contact with the drum 22 as shown inFig. 2. The tightening screw 41 for the nut 21 is then tightened tosecure the nut against movement. Thereafter, the two rollers 11 and 25can be shifted away from the composition roller 9 as shown in Fig. 1,whenever desired, without losing the setting of these two rollers withrespect to the composition roller, by turning the shatl'l. To bring therollers back to their former position, it is merely necessary to turnthe shaft 1'1 until the nut 21 is brought up against the drum 22.

In case a very fine adjustment of the transfer roller 25 toward thecomposition roller 9 is required, the sleeve 18 is used. First, arelative rough adjustment is secured by turning the shaft 17 to bringthe roller 25 to an approximately proper spacing with respect to theroller 9. Then the set-screw 43, which normally holds the sleeve 18 fromturning in the frame member 19, is loosened. and the sleeve 18 ismanually turned, this bringing the shaft 1'7 toward the left, or viceversa according to the direction in which the sleeve 18 is being turned.As the sleeve 18 has a fine thread, a very precise adjustment of thetransfer roller relative to the composition roller is had. When theproper spacing of the two rollers 25 and 9 is secured, by rotation ofthe sleeve 18 the set-screw 43 is tightened to fix the sleeve inposition, and the lock-nut 21 is adjusted on the shaft 17 to bring it upagainst the drum 22 as shown in Fig. 2, and it is then set by tighteningthe locking screw 41. Thereafter the two rollers 11 and 25 can be movedas a unit away from the composition roller 9 whenever desired by turningthe hand-wheel 20, and they can be restored to their former position byturning the hand-wheel to bring the nut 21 up against the drum 22.

The calibrated drums 22 and36 permit the adjusting means located at theopposite sides of the coating machine to be set in like position.

What I claim is:

1. A device of the character described comprising, a composition roller,a fountain roller, a transfer roller for receiving a coating from thefountain roller and applying it to the composition roller, means formounting the transfer roller to permit it to be moved to and from thecomposition roller, means for moving the fountain roller to and from thetransfer roller, and means for connecting the fountain and transferrollers to enable them to be moved together as a unit to and from thecomposition roller without disturbing their setting with respect to oneanother.

2. A device of the character described comprising, a. support, a sleevethreaded therein, a

shaft threaded within the sleeve, a roller mounting spring-pressedagainst the shaft, means for permitting rotation of the shaft within thesleeve, means for locking the sleeve against rotary movement in thesupport, and stop-means adjustable on the shaft for limitng rotarymovement of the shaft within the sleeve.

3. A device of the character described comprising, a composition roller,a pair of rollers adapted to be adjusted relative to the-compositionroller, means for adjusting the position of each of the rollers relativeto one another, means for locking the two rollers in any set position ofseparation from one another, a threaded shaft for shifting the pair ofrollers as a unit toward the composition roller, and a threaded mountingfor the shaft to be shifted to move the shaft with it.

4. A device of the character described.comprising, a composition roller,a fountain roller, a support for said fountain roller, a threaded sleevemounted in said support, means for fixing said sleeve in any position ofadjustment in the support, a threaded shaft extending through thesleeve, adjustable means on said shaft for limiting the longitudinalmovement of the shaft through the sleeve, means engaged by the shaft forshifting the fountain roller on its support, a transfer roller and meansfor shifting said transfer roller relative to the fountain roller, meansfor locking the fountain roller and transfer roller together as a unitin any position of separation so that the same may be moved as a unittoward the composition roller by the means for shifting the fountainroller.

5. A device of the character described comprising, two rollers, slidablebearing members in which the rollers are mounted, a pair of shafts foradjusting the position of said rollers, a support on which the bearingmembers are mounted, a threaded sleeve adjustable in said support, oneof the shafts movable through said sleeve for slidingone of the bearingmembers on the support, the second shaft being threaded through one ofthe bearing membersand engaging the other bearing member to move it onthe support and means for locking the last mentioned shaft with respectto the bearing member through which it is threaded.

AUGUST HORMEL.

